In
Anticipation
On Monday tickets for the 2013 edition
of the Master Musician Festival go on sale. It will be the twentieth
anniversary celebration for a festival that many did not think had
the legs to achieve long life. To be truthful, I'm not sure anyone
had the vision for an extended run. When I see Gabrielle Mattingly
Gray I will have to ask her about that because it was largely her
vision that gave birth to the festival. To be sure, it has benefited
from the enduring efforts of lots of dedicated people but the birth
of the vision stemmed from only a few.
The current board of directors and
Tiffany Bourne, the president, have done an exceptional job in
continuing the tradition and to celebrate this anniversary they have
landed a premier act with the inking of Willie Nelson to appear. Of
course, Willie needs no praise from me, he is long past that. He
will no doubt go down and one of the most eclectic innovators in
music. Those of us who have only become familiar with Willie since
Red Headed Stranger were unfamiliar with his itinerant past
and his ability to write hit songs for other people. His association
with Waylon Jennings is part of outlaw music legend. This will most
certainly be a huge year for the Master Musician's Festival.
I mentioned the beginnings of this
festival because of the dozens of lesser know performers who have
crossed this stage. Some either were famous or have become famous in
their own right. When the Avett Brothers performed I had never heard
of them. But we have seen not just a few performers that were
equally as good and talented as the ones that have become famous.
Last year I enjoyed Abigail Washburn as much as anyone. One of my
all time favorites is the couple from Berea who performed as Zoe
Speaks. Classical night brought us the Ahn Trio and Rachel Barton
who actually played the strings off her violin, fiddle to most of us.
Could anyone ever forget Odetta and the palpable connection to the
civil rights movement?
But is was the connection to a local
musician that kicked off the notion of a festival. There have been
many more aspiring musicians to come and perform at our festival.
Perhaps the most vital and enduring part of this festival is the
opportunity it affords to local and area musicians to become seen and
appreciated and have their art fostered. Of the many ways that
mankind has found to communicate with one another it is arguably
music that has the greatest ability to convey the sense of oneself to
others. Even in a foreign tongue music can still cross boundaries
with its tonality, tempo and melody to lend a note of understanding.
I think that perhaps in this country
the music of Appalachia has played a larger role than in most other
areas. The isolation of the hills and hollers preserved much of the
musical tradition of the old world and now, through the actions of
festivals like ours, is now reaching out and spreading the traditions
to other people and nations. The magic of modern instantaneous
communication can now let a listener or watcher on the other side of
the globe experience what you are experiencing in real time. A
person sitting in the audience in July could post a video on YouTube
and it be seen globally instantly.
This year, likely before the time of
this festival, we will have one of the graduates of the local stage
appear on a nationally televised show. I reviewed this young man,
Brandon Roush, and the band, No Tale Lights a couple of
years ago and now they perform as The Dirty Grindstones.
Without the local stage it is conceivable that this would never have
happened.
There have been so many others with
equally amazing talents. The Master Musician this year will be a
local performer, Tommy Minton. I have known Tommy since he was a kid
and I a much younger man. I have sat in awe at his seemingly natural
talent for music and been pleasured by his skill. I have watched him
sit around campfires at music festivals and play music with some who
were much more famous but no more talented. This festival is his
stage along with other lesser known lights.
In my writing I have often spoken of
how a festival like this can be effective in projecting how a
community is perceived. It is through civic effort and shared work
that these things are done in the best way possible. As soon as the
lights go out on one season the work is already under way for the
next. There is little doubt that having Willie here will bring a
record crowd and also some people who have never been to this
festival. The Master Musician's Festival has already become more
widely known that most would have dreamed at the beginning and this
year will shine the light more brightly on the festival in general
and Somerset-Pulaski County in general.
This has been and is going to be a year
of changes in Somerset-Pulaski County. It is possible now to begin
to see what may be a glimmer of our home as a progressive area,
something that just a short time ago seemed unthinkable. Effort by
civic groups, many unattached to local government in any way, is key
to that progressive opportunity.
So, here we are. Still four months out
from our festival and anticipation is already at a fever pitch. I am
looking forward to seeing Willie but I would say that the press of
the crowd will keep me at a distance. But when you go to see Willie
take the opportunity to appreciate some of the other performers who
love their art just as much as he does. If you see Tiffany or some
of the other board members, thank them for their efforts and
perseverance. There have been times that the success of this festival
was not guaranteed.
My take on the anticipation of this
year's edition of The Master Musician's Festival. I am sure I will
have more to say later. See you there.
Kudos to the Cards on their win over Duke. With 10 to go in the second half Duke's legs were gone. It was a masterful presentation of Rick Pitino's trademark style of suffocating man to man defense and transition. The pace of the game was electric against a very good Duke team. Russ Smith and Peyton Siva drove to the basket at will and set up the score even when they did not take it to the rim themselves. 
